“The Messina City Council approved the Sustainable Urban Mobility Plan (PUMS) this afternoon, an essential tool for freeing up a large amount of resources for the city. These resources will be allocated to strengthening the public transport system, making city streets safe, and investing in pedestrian and cycle-mobility interventions” begins the note signed by the Democratic Party councilors Felice Calabrò, Alessandro Russo, Antonella Russo , which continues:
“The Democratic Party expressed its favorable vote in complete freedom, following a coherent political path. This commitment of the PD, present in all the local administrations where it governs, supports the planning of sustainable urban mobility, contributing to the liveability of urban centers, their decongestation and the reduction of emissions harmful to the environment.
The PD’s vote in the chamber does not imply any “entry into the majority” of the Basile administration, as is often read in the public debate in an instrumental way. The PD remains the main opposition group to the Basile junta, a role assigned by voters in the local elections. This opposition is intelligent and mature, capable of distinguishing between the acts to be deliberated in the City Council, including those of crucial importance for the Messina community and for the livability of the city.
Also thanks to four amendments presented by the PD group and approved by the chamber, the PUMS confirms itself as a fundamental strategic planning tool for the future of the city. The amendments concern the reduction of the extension of the pedestrian area from Viale Europa to Villa Dante, the limitation of the school ZTL to primary schools only, the creation of a control room for monitoring the PUMS in the City Council with the mandatory involvement of the associations of traders, environmentalists and stakeholders, and the commitment to strengthening the resources intended for the safety of sidewalks and pedestrian crossings. Thanks to these amendments, important economic resources can be obtained for the improvement of mobility and public transport in the next ten years.
Politicizing the PD’s responsible and conscious vote in support of this instrument appears to be a reckless move, especially if implemented by the city’s center-right. On occasions of much more significant deliberations from a political point of view, the center-right never fails to make its support for the administration felt.
On a political level, the final numbers show that, even without the PD, the PUMS would have been approved without difficulty, since the center-right obtained only 11 votes against, well below the rejection threshold. Likewise, it emerges that the majority that should support the Basile administration in the chamber no longer exists. This result highlights the need for the council and the mayor to carefully address the next steps in the chamber, first of all that of the budget estimates.
The PD reiterates its line of intransigence on administrative issues, maintaining a position of control and supervision over administrative acts, always centered on concrete issues and devoted to the superior interests of the Messina community. You can’t joke about the future of the city, and you can’t politicize everything: it’s a question of institutional seriousness and political style. It is unfortunate that this aspect has escaped the centre-right’s attention in today’s political debate, putting the entire city of Messina at risk” concludes the note from the councillors.
